1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to strain relief devices and is concerned more particularly with an electrical cord strain relief member having integral means for clamping and unclamping the electrical cord.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
In connecting an electrical cord to a housing of an electrical device, such as an appliance, for example, the electrical cord may be passed axially through a sleeve-like strain relief member and through a bushing in a first opening in said housing. The bushing usually is made of dielectric material, such as rubber, for example, which protects the electrical cord from abrasion or cutting on the edges of said first opening. The sleeve-like strain relief member, such as a helical spring, for example, is designed to resist any tendency of the electrical cord to bend sharply adjacent the bushing where mechanical fatigue may occur and cause the wires in the electrical cord to break.
The electrical cord then may be passed through the housing and out a second opening for connection to an insert subassembly, such as a switch unit, for example, which may be installed in the second opening. Consequently, after wires in the electrical cord have their portions stripped and connected to electrical terminals of the insert sub-assembly, the electrical cord may be pulled back through the bushing in said first opening and through the strain relief member so that the insert sub-assembly may be installed in said second opening of the housing.
In order to ensure that any further pulling of the electrical cord will not tear the wires thereof from the connected terminals, there may be provided within the housing a cord clamping means which is rigidly supported. Thus, an anchoring portion of the electrical cord, such as a bare ground wire, for example, is firmly secured to the clamping means within the housing in a manner for absorbing any pulling forces exerted on the electrical cord so that only minimal effects thereof are transmitted to the wires connected to the electrical terminals.
In disconnecting the electrical cord from the electrical device, the insert sub-assembly may be removed from said second opening in the housing and the wires of the electrical cord disconnected from the terminals of the sub-assembly. In practice, the stripped end portions of the wires may be provided with sleeve-type terminal members which slidingly engage terminals of the sub-assembly. Thus, the wires of the electrical cord may be readily disconnected from the terminals of the sub-assembly by simply sliding the terminal end portions thereof off the terminals of the sub-assembly.
However, in order to disconnect the electrical cord from the electrical device, it also is necessary to remove the anchoring portion of the electrical cord from the clamping means within the housing; and this may not be accomplished as readily as disconnecting the wires of the cord from the terminals of the sub-assembly. Also, additional tools may be required for disconnecting the anchoring portion of the cord from the clamping means within the housing. For example, the anchoring portion of the cord may be firmly secured to the clamping means by soldering or crimping techniques. Thus, disconnecting the cord from the electrical device may require unsoldering or cutting the anchoring portion in order to release the electrical cord.